The Dead Rogue
by perfectsonnet
Summary: Rachel was hypnotized by the boy with red eyes. Who was he? What was he? And why couldn't she seem to stay away from him, despite warnings. AU.


Rachel was hypnotized by the boy with red eyes. He didn't look away from her either, but he didn't seem hypnotized, not even amused, more… curious. Why was he curious? Because she was the new girl? Or because she was wearing a fuzzy reindeer sweater in October, not to mention she was a senior in high school and dressing like a toddler? At least, according to the blonde girl in a cheerleading outfit earlier this morning, she was. Rachel gulped. Were red eyes normal? Had she been completely oblivious to normal eye colors in her last seventeen years of living?

The boy handed her the book she'd dropped and smiled with half of his mouth. Rachel tried to smile back but it probably looked more like a grimace. The boy stood up from his crouch on the floor and turned to walk away. Rachel followed his lead and stood up as well.

"That was really weird…" Tina broke the strange silence. Rachel almost jumped, she'd completely forgotten about the girl who had been assigned to help her find her classes today.

"Who was that?" Rachel asked, watching the tall boy turn around a corner far down the hallway.

"That was Finn Hudson. He doesn't talk much. And those eyes? Totally real. Freaky right? Must be some sort of genetic defect. He's kind of hot though, I would totally bang him if he invested in color contacts... Not that I bang people… And not that he'd be interested in me or anything. He hangs out with the "popular" people, like Quinn Fabray and Puck and Santana Lopez. Honestly, just stay away from that whole group; they're nothing but trouble. Stick with me, and you'll be fine!" Rachel could already tell she'd be stuffed into Tina's group of friends for the school year. Not that she minded. Tina was really nice, and hanging out with Talkative Tina, which Rachel secretly named her an hour into the school day, and the group of friends she was bound to meet soon was better than having no friends at all.

The bell rang abruptly and loudly, and Rachel actually jumped this time. For some reason that boy, _Finn_, put her on edge. Tina asked for Rachel's schedule, and she handed over the piece of paper.

"You've got Spanish II with Mr. Schuester next. I'm actually right next door in French II."

Tina headed down the hallway, presumably towards her class and Rachel followed suit. Tina pointed inside a classroom. "That's yours. I'll be next door, just wait for me after class, and we can walk to lunch together." Rachel nodded with a smile and hesitantly walked into a classroom with various sombreros hanging from the walls. Finn Hudson was seated in the very back row of tables, talking to a striking Latina with raven black hair who was sitting next to him. She walked up to the large desk in the front of the room and smiled at the man sitting behind the desk that she assumed was Mr. Schuester.

"Hi, you must be Rachel?" Rachel nodded in confirmation. "I'm Mr. Schue. I'm assuming you took Spanish I at your old school? And began Spanish II at your old school as well?" Rachel nodded again. "Si!" She exclaimed and then blushed. She was trying really hard not to be the loud, dramatic girl she known for at her old school. She wasn't about to start a conversation with her teacher in Spanish. She'd be labeled as a showoff, or worse, a teacher's pet.

The man laughed politely and continued, "Right, well, you'll fit right in here. You can take a seat next to Sugar. Sugar, raise your hand."

Rachel turned around to see a pretty brunette in a fur coat raise her manicured fingers to Mr. Schuester. She was sitting in the very back, in the table next to Finn's.

Rachel hitched her backpack higher on her shoulder and walked towards the table. She took a seat next to Sugar and offered her a hand to shake.

"I'm Rachel Berry," she said confidently.

Sugar (such a stupid name) looked at her hand as if it was covered in cow excrement. She smirked at Rachel and turned her body away from her. "We're not friends," Sugar stated loudly. Rachel's jaw dropped. She was losing count of how many people had been rude to her today. First the blonde girl, telling her she looked like a toddler. Then the girl in the bathroom who said something about her penny loafers, and now this girl, Sugar.

"Don't be such a bitch, Splenda," Rachel heard a masculine voice say from beside her. She turned to see Finn smiling softly at her. She tried to smile back this time, praying it didn't come off as a grimace again.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, before digging in her schoolbag to make herself look busy. Finn nodded and turned back to his friend.

Rachel glanced at Sugar to see her mouth wide open in shock.

She leaned towards Rachel and whispered softly, insuring only Rachel could hear what she was about to say. "How do you know him?" Rachel crinkled her eyebrows at this.

"I don't…"

"You obviously do. Why else would he defend you like that?"

Rachel was shocked by Sugar's instant change in demeanor.

"I don't know… because you were sort of being a bitch?" Rachel tried to say as politely as possible. Sugar seemed unfazed by the insult, still reeling from Finn's comment.

"Doesn't matter, Finn Hudson doesn't just _defend _people… I've only heard him talk twice this entire year."

Hudson, Rachel registered with an inward smile, like the river in her favorite city of all time.

Sugar awaited a response from Rachel, but what else was there to say? She didn't know why Finn had just defended her. He didn't even know her. She glimpsed at him once more but could only see the back of his head. She caught the eyes of the girl he was talking to, and her eyes narrowed at Rachel. Rachel looked away quickly. The Latina's eyes weren't red like Finn's, but they were piercing, almost black.

Sugar was still looking at her, waiting, when Mr. Schue clapped his hands to quiet down everyone.

"Hola, buenos dias," he addressed the class. Some students muttered back a reply in Spanish, but for the most part the class was unresponsive.

"We have a new student, Rachel Berry!" Rachel immediately flushed scarlet. Was he really going to single her out? All of her other teachers today had completely ignored the fact that they had a new student in their class, why couldn't he?

"Rachel, can you stand up and tell us a little about yourself? Don't worry, you can use English."

Rachel stood up slowly and watched as two-dozen heads turned around to look at her. She could feel Finn's eyes one her and she gulped. She told herself to be as nonchalant and calm as possible.

"I'm Rachel Berry. I just moved to Lima from New York, a little more than an hour away from the city. I love… Broadway and singing and Barbra Streisand," she muttered hesitantly. Before Mr. Schue could say more, Rachel abruptly sat down. Mr. Schue merely nodded and walked toward the chalkboard to write something in Spanish on it. All of the heads turned back towards the front of the classroom, and Rachel could feel all eyes leave her. Except for Finn's, which she continued to feel on her for the rest of class.

* * *

Tina met Rachel at the door of the classroom as promised, and they headed towards the cafeteria.

"How was Spanish?" Tina asked, maneuvering her way through the crowd of hungry teenagers.

"It was… interesting."

Tina giggled, "Mr. Schue's pretty lame, but he's nice and refuses to let anyone fail his class."

Rachel nodded, "No, he's totally cool. His pronunciation is terrible but he's definitely passionate about the language. Um… Finn was actually sitting next to me. Finn Hudson," she clarified.

Tina raised her eyebrows, "Let me guess, he completely ignored you and the fact that you ran into him like an hour ago?"

"No actually, he defended me," Rachel muttered breathlessly, from speed walking through the halls or remembering Finn's smile she wasn't quite sure.

"What?" Tina practically screeched. Gosh, maybe this guy really didn't talk.

"Yeah, this girl, Sugar? She was really rude to me, and Finn called her a bitch and… it was really sweet, actually."

"What in the actual hell. I have never in my life…" Tina trailed off when the pair stepped into the cafeteria.

Tina must've lost her train of thought because she didn't finish her sentence, only led Rachel to a table in the corner of the cafeteria where a boy in a wheelchair, a blonde boy with a big mouth, a boy with an extremely fashionable outfit, and a slightly larger black girl were sitting.

Tina sat down and Rachel followed suit. It was only then that she realized everyone, including Tina, had a packed lunch. Rachel took note to start packing hers as well. She wasn't willing to get in the cafeteria line today, so she'd just have to wait until after school to eat something at home.

"Guys, this is Rachel," Tina introduced to the rest of the table, "Rachel, this is Artie, Sam, Kurt, and Mercedes."

Kurt, the very fashionable one, eyed Rachel up and down before offering his hand. Rachel took it and they shook hands. She was glad someone else around here had real manners.

"I'm Kurt," he reintroduced himself, "where are you from?"

"Just outside of New York City."

Kurt gasped dramatically and put a hand to his heart, "Have you seen _Wicked_?"

Rachel's eyes widened in excitement, "Of course! I've seen it three times!"

"I saw it when it came to Columbus! Why in the world are you living in Lima, Ohio when you were so close to Broadway in your old town?"

"My dad's work," Rachel explained sadly.

Kurt nodded, rolling his eyes in agreement. "Parents. They ruin everything."

Rachel nodded, but felt slightly guilty. It wasn't her dad's fault he got offered a job at a great law firm in Lima. If Rachel wanted to go to NYADA next year, her dad needed the best paid job he could find.

"How's your first day?" Artie, the boy in the wheelchair, asked politely.

"It's been… okay," Rachel replied honestly. "Some people have been particularly mean, but the teachers are nice and Tina's been really helpful." She smiled encouragingly at her new friend.

Mercedes, the bigger girl, frowned, "Girl, who's been mean to you? I'll handle it."

Rachel felt her stomach turn in excitement. She was previously wary of Mercedes because of the look on her face when Rachel sat down but she was already willing to stand up for her.

"I'm not sure of their names," Rachel replied. She wasn't going to mention Sugar, and she really didn't know the names of the other two girls.

"Yeah, Finn Hudson's been defending her well enough," Tina chimed in. Sam stopped devouring his macaroni and looked up at her for the first time. He turned to Tina with disbelief written all over his face. "What?"

Tina nodded in confirmation. "Yep, apparently he called Sugar a bitch after she was rude to Rachel. Can you believe that?"

Sam nodded his head, baffled. Rachel was really starting to doubt the normalcy of Finn even acknowledging her. By the look on Sam's face one would think Tina had just said her father would be the next companion of Doctor Who. Or something equally as insane.

Rachel looked at the rest of the faces at the table, all sporting various faces of disbelief as well.

"Okay," Rachel spoke up, "What's the deal with him? Everyone's been acting weird when it comes to him."

"Finn and his… "clan," I guess you could call it, are… different. They don't really associate with anyone outside of their circle. Puck, Quinn, and Santana do have other friends but, I don't know, the four of them have some kind of… weird connection."

This only confused Rachel even more. Weird connection? Was she in a Twilight Zone? The five others at the table were leaning in, like they were scared someone would hear them. Almost like it was… dangerous to be overheard.

"Not to mention Finn barely even _speaks_ to anyone outside of the four of them," Sam chimed in, "At least the others _pretend_ to have social connections."

"Yeah, and I've heard some pretty sketchy things about them… things they've done." Artie said, leaning in.

Rachel was about to ask about these "sketchy things" when the bell rang for lunch to end.

She stood up with Tina and waved to the others before following Tina to the trashcan. She watched as Tina threw away her brown paper bag and headed towards the door. Rachel turned around as well and ran into a hard chest, the impact knocking her on her butt.

She looked up to see none other than Finn Hudson looking down at her. But he wasn't smiling. He didn't even look concerned. He looked her up and down once before muttering a rough "watch it" and walking away with a tough boy sporting a Mohawk. Rachel felt tears spring to her eyes and willed herself to calm down. If she cried on her first day, people would know her as a drama queen for the rest of the year, just like they did at her old school.

She accepted Tina's hand to help her onto her feet and she brushed off the nonexistent dust on her miniskirt.

"Are you okay?"

Rachel nodded, not yet trusting her voice to not crack.

"What did Finn say to you?"

Rachel only shrugged, before finding her voice. "He certainly wasn't very polite to me…"

Tina snorted. "Yeah, get used to it." Rachel wondered if Tina had decided Rachel made up the entire story about Finn defending her. Finn certainly didn't seem like he'd be open to defend her after that rude incident between the two of them. The last time she ran into him at least he smiled.

Why was that? Finn was practically a different person. His red eyes were blazing and his mouth was set in a hard line. What happened to him? What changed in such a short time?

Rachel suddenly felt an encompassing need to know everything about Finn Hudson.

* * *

hi! i am very excited about this story. please review and let me know what you think.

any guesses what's up with Finn and his "clan"


End file.
